1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for triggering and/or carrying out chemical reactions by irradiating starting materials and, in particular, liquid, or mixtures of liquid and solid, starting materials with short-wave electromagnetic radiation emitted from at least one substance sending out short-wave electromagnetic radiation upon irradiation and excitation with long-wave electromagnetic radiation under operating conditions, as well as a device for triggering and/or carrying out chemical reactions by irradiating with short-wave electromagnetic radiation starting materials and, in particular liquid, or liquid and solid, starting materials received in a receptacle, comprising a generator for generating long-wave electromagnetic radiation as well as a vessel for receiving at least one substance emitting short-wave electromagnetic radiation upon irradation and excitation with long-wave electromagnetic radiation under operating conditions.
2. Prior Art
The realization of chemical reactions or processes by irradiation has been known for long with the most diverse effects being obtainable as a function of the substances used and the radiations applied. In this context, it is known to initiate or promote chemical processes by irradiation with long-wave electromagnetic waves such as, for instance, microwaves or with short-wave electromagnetic waves such as ultraviolet waves. Thus, it is known that it is possible by means of ultraviolet radiation to kill germs in food and luxury food or in biologic materials, thereby sterilizing such materials without having to apply elevated temperatures. Moreover, it is feasible to start, or keep going, specific reactions by excitation with electromagnetic waves in the UV range, whereas the use of microwaves is of particular advantage in chemistry if reactions or processes are to occur at elevated temperatures.
In many cases, however, it is particularly the combination of both long-wave and short-wave electromagnetic waves which yields particularly rapid and good results such that EP-A 0 429 814 has already proposed both a process and a device for triggering and/or promoting chemical processes, in which both long-wave electromagnetic waves, namely microwaves, and short-wave electromagnetic waves, namely ultraviolet rays, have been employed. In that process and the pertinent arrangement, it is proceeded in a manner that a receptacle for the starting materials to be treated and a gas reaction tube are arranged in a microwave oven, wherein the waves emitted from the microwave oven impinge on the gas reaction tube containing substances capable of being excited by microwaves and sending out UV rays upon excitation. The UV rays sent out by that gas reaction tube subsequently are directed onto the reaction vessel contained in the gas reaction tube or surrounded by the same and containing the substances or starting materials to be reacted. That known configuration involves the drawback that, in particular, a large-volume gas reaction tube having large dimensions suitable for surrounding an accordingly large reaction vessel must be provided and that, in particular, no uniform radiation density can be readily safeguarded over the total volume of the reaction vessel and particularly in its center at an accordingly large dimension of the reaction vessel. Another disadvantage of a gas reaction tube enclosing the reaction vessel resides in that exclusively materials that are transparent to short-wave electromagnetic radiation can be used for the reaction vessel. This constitutes a considerable limitation to the use of, in particular, pressure reaction vessels.